Friday sees the completion of round-robin play, with the last semifinalists to be decided.
Just like Thursday, all four men in the Newcombe Group go into their last day of round-robin play with a chance to advance to Saturday’s semifinals. Alexander Zverev is atop the group with a 2-0 record, followed by Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz at 1-1, and Andrey Rublev at 0-2. Which two players will join Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz in the semifinals?
The ATP outlines all the advancement scenarios here.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup, while highlighting the other matches on the schedule. Friday’s play begins at 11:30am local time.
Alexander Zverev (2) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (3) – Not Before 2:00pm
This match not only has advancement implications, but it also may go a long way in deciding which of these two will end the year as the World No.2, and thus receive preferred placement in the draw for January’s Australian Open. Zverev currently has 7,315 points, while Alcaraz has 6,810. Round-robin matches are worth 200 points, and semifinal matches are worth 400 points, so Carlitos needs a few more match wins this week in order to surpass Sascha.
Zverev can guarantee himself a semifinal spot by winning a set on Friday. But he’d surely prefer to win two sets, especially after his heartbreaking loss to Alcaraz in the Roland Garros final back in June. For the second time in his career, Sascha was just one set away from winning his first Major title, before Carlitos came from behind to win in five.
Overall these two have split 10 previous meetings, all within the past four years, though Zverev leads 4-2 on hard courts. A year ago at this event, Sascha defeated Carlitos in an over three-hour three-setter during round-robin play. He also prevailed over Alcaraz at January’s Australian Open, though Carlitos has now taken their last two encounters, at Indian Wells and Roland Garros.
The German has been playing some great tennis these last few weeks, as the Paris Masters champion is on a seven-match win streak. He’s only been broken twice across those seven victories, and is yet to even face a break point in Turin. By contrast, the Spaniard has been battling illness since arriving in Turin, yet appeared a bit reenergized in his straight-set victory on Wednesday over Rublev. But on a fast-playing indoor hard court, a healthy and confident Zverev is the clear favorite on Friday.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden (6) vs. Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz (8) – Bopanna and Ebden are 0-2, while Krawietz and Puetz are 2-0, so Krawietz and Puetz have already secured their spot for the semifinals, while Bopanna and Ebden have been eliminated.
Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic (1) vs. Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori (4) – Both teams are 1-1, so the winning team in this match will qualify for the semifinals. This is another rematch on Friday from a championship match at this year’s Roland Garros, where Arevalo and Pavic won in straight sets.
Casper Ruud (6) vs. Andrey Rublev (8) – Rublev is 5-2 against Ruud, but Casper’s only two victories over Andrey both came at this tournament, back in 2021 and 2022. Rublev needs to win in straight sets, and also needs Zverev to win in straight sets, to have any chance of advancing.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
